He should have been left alone, he was successful in getting illegals deported.
Via Tri-City Herald
A Pasco man has admitted taking money to perform legal services under the guise of being an immigration attorney.
Jose Antonio Martinez never did any actual work for the immigrants who came to him, and some ended up deported because of his “defective misrepresentations,” said Franklin County Prosecutor Shawn Sant.
Martinez, 54, pleaded guilty in Franklin County Superior Court to one count each of second-degree extortion and unlawful practice of law.
The plea came Wednesday as he was supposed to start a two- to three-week trial.
He originally was charged with four counts of unlawfully practicing law, along with first-degree theft and first-degree criminal trespassing. Most of the charges had involved aggravating factors, including that victims particularly were vulnerable, that Martinez used his position of trust and that he “displayed an egregious lack of remorse.”
Martinez, who goes by Tony Martinez, was sentenced by Judge Vic VanderSchoor to 364 days in jail — the maximum possible sentence for the unlawful practice of law.
The standard range for extortion is one to three months.
Martinez didn’t have any felony convictions before this case. He was released from the Franklin County jail later Wednesday because he had credit for time served.
Martinez was arrested in March 2013 following a monthslong investigation by Pasco police into claims that he was bilking people by taking their money for his help on immigration matters.
Martinez was not qualified to offer legal advice. A notario in other countries indicates the individual is an attorney, but that is not the case in the United States.
Sant said he brought the charges to prevent more people from being exploited based on their immigration status.
Martinez operated different storefronts in downtown Pasco, and collected “a substantial amount of money,” Sant said after Martinez’s arrest. Court documents accused Martinez of taking at least $5,000 from several victims.
Martinez threatened to call immigration authorities and have some of the people deported if they didn’t pay him for legal services, documents said.